Ultrasound wait times for patients in Esperance are expected to plummet when Esperance Medical Imaging opens in June. Experienced sonographer George Msapenda will open his ultrasound service on Dempster Street in the week starting June 10, with renovation works currently ongoing. During his work as a contractor at Esperance Health Campus and in conversations with locals, Mr Msapenda discovered wait times for ultrasounds in Esperance could be as long as four to five weeks. "[Patients] travel to Kalgoorlie or to Albany just for an ultrasound, because they can't fit them in at the hospital," he said. "I met a man who told me he had been waiting for four weeks, just to have a scan of his blood vessels in his leg. So he was going to Kalgoorlie for that exam." Esperance Medical Imaging will be the only ultrasound service in Esperance outside the hospital. Mr Msapenda said wait times would be reduced by half, if not more. He will employ two receptionists and will have two contractor sonographers to back him up. The business will provide a whole range of ultrasound services. This will include early obstetrics, identifying the size of the baby, down syndrome examinations between 12 and 13 weeks of pregnancy and anatomy scans between 19 to 20 weeks of pregnancy. Patients will also be able to access other services including abdominal scans, 'small part' scans, vascular scans, musculoskeletal scans and pediatric scans. In the future, Mr Msapenda hopes to add 3D and 4D scanning machines. "I'm extremely excited. I'll provide the best service I can," he said, "I've got enough experience and I have worked with a lot of patients." After leaving school, Mr Msapenda did his initial training in London, completing a diploma in medical ultrasound. He had further training in Japan and Denmark, before moving to Australia in October 2000. Mr Msapenda completed his masters in medical ultrasound at the University of South Australia. He has worked in senior positions in South Australia and Bunbury. "I love working with people and serving people," Mr Msapenda said. "That's my passion. I love bringing good news to patients, telling patients their baby is jumping. "There is of course the flip side. When there is something wrong with the baby or the baby is dead or there is a lump in the breast. But most of the time it's good news and I love that." Mr Msapenda has self-funded his new ultrasound service.